1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for heating a cooling fluid in a cooling fluid inlet section of a fuel cell stack at cold stack start-up and, more particularly, to a system and method for heating the cooling fluid in a cooling fluid inlet section of a fuel cell stack at cold stack start-up, where the system and method include coating structures in the cathode flow field of the inlet area with a catalyst, and introducing hydrogen into the cathode inlet header at start-up to cause a chemical reaction that generates heat.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Hydrogen is a very attractive fuel because it is clean and can be used to efficiently produce electricity in a fuel cell. A hydrogen fuel cell is an electro-chemical device that includes an anode and a cathode with an electrolyte therebetween. The anode receives hydrogen gas and the cathode receives oxygen or air. The hydrogen gas is dissociated in the anode to generate free protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte to the cathode. The protons react with the oxygen and the electrons in the cathode to generate water. The electrons from the anode cannot pass through the electrolyte, and thus are directed through a load to perform work before being sent to the cathode.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) are a popular fuel cell for vehicles. The PEMFC generally includes a solid polymer-electrolyte proton-conducting membrane, such as a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane. The anode and cathode typically include finely divided catalytic particles, usually platinum (Pt), supported on carbon particles and mixed with an ionomer. The catalytic mixture is deposited on opposing sides of the membrane. The combination of the anode catalytic mixture, the cathode catalytic mixture and the membrane define a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). MEAs are relatively expensive to manufacture and require certain conditions for effective operation.
Several fuel cells are typically combined in a fuel cell stack to generate the desired power. For the automotive fuel cell stack mentioned above, the stack may include two hundred or more fuel cells. The fuel cell stack receives a cathode reactant gas, typically a flow of air forced through the stack by a compressor. Not all of the oxygen is consumed by the stack and some of the air is output as a cathode exhaust gas that may include water as a stack by-product. The fuel cell stack also receives an anode hydrogen reactant gas that flows into the anode side of the stack.
The fuel cell stack includes a series of flow field or bipolar plates positioned between the several MEAs in the stack. The bipolar plates include an anode side and a cathode side for adjacent fuel cells in the stack. Anode gas flow channels are provided on the anode side of the bipolar plates that allow the anode gas to flow to the anode side of the MEA. Cathode gas flow channels are provided on the cathode side of the bipolar plates that allow the cathode gas to flow to the cathode side of the MEA. The bipolar plates also include flow channels through which a cooling fluid flows.
Excessive stack temperatures may damage the membrane and other materials in the stack. Fuel cell systems therefore employ a thermal sub-system to control the temperature of the fuel cell stack. Particularly, a cooling fluid is pumped through the cooling fluid flow channels in the bipolar plates of the stack to draw away stack waste heat. During normal fuel cell stack operation, the speed of the pump is controlled based on the stack load, the ambient temperature and other factors, so that the operating temperature of the stack is maintained at an optimal temperature, for example 80° C. A radiator is typically provided in a cooling fluid loop outside of the stack that reduces the temperature of the cooling fluid heated by the stack where the cooled cooling fluid is cycled back through the stack.
For normal temperature fuel cell system start-up, i.e., above 0° C., the cooling fluid pump is typically immediately started so that the stack components are not damaged as a result of the heat generated by the fuel cell reaction. However, if the cooling fluid in the coolant loop and stack is very cold at system start-up, and the pump is started, the cold cooling fluid has a quenching effect on the fuel cell reaction that causes the stack output voltage and power to significantly drop. Particularly, especially for high power start-up, the sub-zero temperature of the cooling fluid significantly reduces the ability of the stack to generate the desired power. This quenching effect may last for several seconds, and possibly tens of seconds depending on the pump speed and the cooling fluid volume.
It is known in the art to delay the start of the pump at cold system start-up until the stack is generating significant waste heat. However, eventually the cold cooling fluid will enter the stack when the pump is started, which will have the same quenching effect on the warm fuel cells. Further, the very cold cooling fluid flow at cold start-up may act to freeze the product water generated by the stack, which could block flow channels and cause other significant problems.